Lubricant and process of making same.



ALEXANDER WARRELL, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CONTI- NENTAL ASBESTOS CORPORATION, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

LUBRICANT AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER VVAR- BELL, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of the city of Worcester, in the State of Massachusetts and United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricants and Processes of Making Same, of which the fol-- lowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to lubricants and processes of making same, and it comprises as a new composition of matter a putty-like or magma-like lubricant consisting or lubrieating oil and a talc or soapstone material, advantageously of asbesti-form character, such as chrysotile asbestos, or soapstone asbestos, ground or worked with such oil until a change takes place in its physical character, whereby the oil and mineral no longer separate on standing, that is, until the magma becomes permanent in character; and it also comprises a method of making such a lubricant wherein such a mineral and a suitable lubricating oil are worked or agitated together for a long period of time, and advantageously with the ai of a rotary beater, until the two become thoroughly in corporated with each other and a sample on removal no longer shows separation on standing; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

For many purposes, as in car journals, it is desirable to have a lubricant or lubricating device which needs attention only at long intervals and which will continuously present to the moving part a film of oil. For this purpose cotton or wool waste saturated with oil is generally used. The waste has in itself no lubricating virtue, but it serves to hold a body of oil and feed it gradually by capillarity to the moving part. Many efforts have been made to provide something else in view of the cost of the waste and its tendency to take fire whenever. the supply of lubricating oil fails or diminishes; but no successful substitute has been devised. Few other substances have the capillarity necessary and most things when mixed with oil to form a magma tend to settle out or separate. Abestos wool has something of the same capillary properties but it is not successful in bearings and adds to the friction whenever the supply of oil diminishes.

Many lubricants have been proposed to be Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, ll'HHlEi;

Application filed June 6, 1914,. Serial No. $463,555.

made by fine grinding asbestos, talc, soapstone, etc. and working up the resultant powder with lubricating oil. These, however, have not been particularly successful. :Where the proportion of mineral was large, in use in a bearing the oil disappeared from the layer next the moving part and capillarity did not furnish a fresh supply. Where the proportion of mineral was small, it usually simply settled out; formed a dough or mud with separation of the excess of oil. I have found, however, that though soapstoneand its related minerals, talc and serpentine asbestos or chrysolite when fine ground in the ordinary way, evince very little aflinity in the physical sense for oil, yet by working up these minerals with oil in a special way, compositions of a different and advantageous character can be produced. By taking any of these minerals and working it up with oil in this special way, I can produce finally a magma or putty of oil and mineral in which there is no evidence of a tendency for separation, whatever the relative proportions of the two components within reasonable limits. It is not a matter of sheer comminution of a mineral but of working or agitating the mineral with the oil until, apparently, the oil enters the body of the mineral throughout. Very likely in this operation in the intimate contact of the two which is brought about, there is a change in their physical relation to each other. ll find that the best type of working is one where there will be long continued agitation of the mineral; probably attended with flexure or bending of the fibers or leaflets as the case may be. This perhaps opens up the scams or lines of cleavage for the entrance of oil. The best apparatus for the purpose I find to be arotary beater of a common type; a machine in which the mineral, which should be fine, is kept in agitation with the oil for a number of hours.

Any apparatus, however, which will'produce nd to be the asbestiform the chrysotile together in the way described, the fibers, so to speaigof the chrysotile apparently work apart; or at least the oil works in between them to produce a fluffy character.

In actual operation, in producing a lubricant for heavy duty journals, I find that about equal parts b weight of lubricating oil and chrysotile as. estos give good results. Any lubricating oil may be employed but for heavy duty work it is best to use a thick petroleum oil. The grade of chrysotile or asbestos known commercially as asbestos tailings may be used. Other proportions, other oils and; other formsof talc or soapstone minerals may be used. The agitation of the oil and the asbestos is bestdone hot and particularly where a viscid mineral oil is used, as this materially reduces the time of operation necessary. The mineral is best added to the oil hot and dry.

Using the described materials in the described way, the result is a putty-like lubricant of a consistency quite different from that produced by the same quantity of asbestos fine ground previously and then simply stirred into the oil. In some ways, the composition acts like a colloidal composition though I do not know that the term collodial is strictly'applicable here. At least in spite of the difference in specific gravity between the mineral and the oil and of the fact that the relative proportions are such as should permit separation, there is no ,separation'even on standing for a long period of time. I

The material can be barreled, shipped and stored without fear of separation. In the journal it exercises a lubricating effect of a character different from that of cotton waste saturatedfrom oil or with ordinary mixtures of oil and filler materials. From the permanency of the oil mineral mixture with the relatively large amount of oil, the mixture acts in effect as ifthe mineral were present in an open textured, very porous, highly capillary condition. In car journals the mixture will run from three to six months without further attention and it may be readily renewed by a simple addition of oil. .On such an addition of further oil and mixing, the new mixture becomes homogeneous and retains this homogeneity indefinitely. With the proportions specified, there is practically no separation of oil, no

exudation, etc; With a good quality of oil, the mixture is permanent against ordinary changes of heat and cold.

Results of like character may be obtained, in a modification of my invention, in making coating compositions. As is well known, ground asbestos and the like though they may be used do not make good paints; the paints are not permanent and the mineral has no particular covering power. But by taking chrysotile asbestos and working it up with linseed oil or other paint vehicle of like nature in a rotary beater for a number of hours, a good and permanent paint of good covering power may be attained. The machine should be so arranged as to produce agitation as distinguished from comminutionand the operation is best done hot to accelerate the penetration of the oil into the sub-fibers.

V hat I claimis 1. In the manufacture of a lubricant the process which comprises prolonged agitation of a comminuted soapstone mineral in lubricating oil until a permanent magma is formed.

2. In the manufacture of a lubricant the process which comprises prolonged agitation of chrysotile asbestos in lubricating oil until a permanent magma is formed.

3. In the manufacture of a lubricant, the process which comprises a prolonged agitation of hot dry asbestos in heated lubricat ing oil until a permanent magma is formed.

I. In the manufacture of a lubricant the process which comprises prolonged agitation of asbestos tailings in lubricating oil until a permanent magma is formed.

As a new composition of matter, a permanent, putty-like magma of a soapstone mineral and lubricating oil.

6. As a new composition of matter, a permanent, putty-like magma of chrysotile asbestos and lubricating oil.

7. As a new composition of matter, a permanent, putty-like magma of asbestos tailings and lubricating oil.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER \VAR-RELL.

Witnesses:

S. R. W. ALLEN, G. M. MoRELANn. 

